Ex-PDEA, BoC execs charged over drugs

THE PHILIPPINE Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Thursday charged 44 people, including former PDEA deputy director general for administration Ismael G. Fajardo, Jr. and former Bureau of Customs (BoC) intelligence agent Jimmy S. Guban, in connection with the importation of illegal drugs kept in magnetic lifters that slipped past the BoC.

Messrs. Fajardo and Guban will be charged for violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, over the magnetic lifters discovered at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) on Aug. 7, and in General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Cavite on Aug. 8.

They are also charged for obstruction of justice, negligence and tolerance under the Revised Penal Code, and violation of Antigraft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Other principal suspects in the complaints are Senior Superintendent Eduardo P. Acierto, Police Inspector Lito Pirote and Joseph Dimayuga,

Twelve individuals were sued in connection with the magnetic lifters seized in the MICP containing shabu worth P2.4 billion, while 27 were charged over the empty magnetic lifters found in GMA, Cavite, which allegedly contained P11-billion worth of illegal drugs.

The PDEA noted in its complaint the alleged scheme established by witnesses and some of the respondents in their testimonies before separate probes at the Senate and the House of Representatives.